My Love’s prayers and Bible stories
I’m going to be adding a few post in the next few days that are not really “new”. I have some notes on my facebook page that I am posting over here, because I really want to start utilizing my blog better.
This was originally posted on my facebook page Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 9:41pm
Nothing makes my heart happier than to hear my daughter pray. We try to teach her to thank God for things, to ask for forgiveness, etc. I try to always share with her when I find out about people who need us to pray for them (like prayer request via facebook, email, etc). “Olivia there is a very sick person that we need to stop and pray for right now” or “Olivia do you see these pictures, that is a house that is on fire, we need to pray for them.”
It is so funny, because you never know what she is going to say. Her typical meal-time prayer is “Thank you God for family, friends, and food – amen!” Or if someone is sick (like last week when my mom was ill) she said “Thank you God – Gia not sick any more. Amen!”
As I said, we are also working on forgiveness. When she makes a bad choice we are teaching her not just to apologize, but to also ask for forgiveness. I use that time to explain that yes, I will forgive her, and why I will forgive her. (Because sometimes mommy makes poor choices too, and I have to ask God to forgive me, and because God is faithful and not only forgives me for my bad choice, but also forgets about it, I will forgive her. Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” NIV 1984)
So I couldn’t help but chuckle this afternoon when this happened…
I was at the counter preparing the kids lunch and behind me I could hear the rustle of dog food. I knew that Luke was getting into Hot Rod’s food and water bowls (again) but decided I’d wait and clean it up after I was through with their lunch. (He’s a boy, let him have is fun, right? Besides it will be a great story for my future grandchildren.) When all of a sudden I hear O sigh and say “Father, please forgive Lukey for making a mess. Amen!” and turn to see her with her broom and dust pan sweeping up the dog food from the floor! My sweet girl, I love her!
I also love that she notices things that I do (both good and bad…). I almost always pray – out loud – every time the kids and I get in the car to go somewhere. I ask for protection, I take time to lift up family and friends who are in need of prayer, or who just have been on my mind. O usually ask to pray for Daddy, her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins… So on the rare occasion when I do not pray out loud it is sweet to hear her say “Thank you God, keep us safe. Amen!”
Like I said though, she isn’t just picking up the good habits… So please don’t think I am just writing all this down to make it seem like Cody and I are doing a great job. It isn’t us. We couldn’t do this with out the Lord guiding and directing us. It takes great patience, which I am not always the best at exercising, and our kids are still sinners. But thank God for GRACE, both for them and for me!
Olivia also loves to “read”. She is starting to recognize some words and some books she has memorized. However, most of her Bible story books (and she has about 9 million of them) start off the same… “God said ‘Go to Nineveh’ then Mary hold the baby….”
Yes, old testament Jonah with new testament Jesus. I love it! I wouldn’t change it for anything. I keep trying to catch her “reading” on video, but the little darling refuses to cooperate for the camera. Her stories go on (and on, and on…) and are a collaborative effort of the entire Bible, but they always start the same. Sometimes she will add Noah fighting Goliath in the lions den. Or Joseph fishing in his coat… She may get her stories mixed up, but I know that these seeds are being planted, and that she loves learning about them. Again, this is not just from me and her daddy. There are lots of people planting these seeds in our daughters mind and heart. And we are forever grateful for each of them for loving our sweet O and teaching her these truths. I pray each and every day for the day when we get to celebrate her salvation. I thank God in advance for the day when she is not just my daughter, but also my sister in Christ.
faith. family. friends. love. 